Robotics

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Robots are already in widespread use in manufacturing and warfare. You see them increasingly in hospitals, warehouses, even homes. The mainstreaming of robotics presents a number of interesting puzzles for administrative, tort, and other areas of the law.

CIS has emerged as a national leader in exploring the intersection of law and robotics. Our staff has published on a variety of topics, including autonomous driving, the domestic use of drones, robotics and privacy, and liability for personal robots. We have held several events around artificial intelligence and robotics, including the annual Robot Block Party for National Robotics Week that draws thousands of visitors.

Bryant Walker Smith is an assistant professor in the School of Law and (by courtesy) in the School of Engineering at the University of South Carolina. He is also an affiliate scholar at the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School, chair of the Emerging Technology Law Committee of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, and a member of the New York Bar. Read more » about Bryant Walker Smith

Dr. Asaro is Assistant Professor and Director of Graduate Programs for the School of Media Studies at the New School for Public Engagement in New York City. He is the co-founder of the International Committee for Robot Arms Control, and has written on lethal robotics from the perspective of just war theory and human rights. Dr.Read more » about Peter Asaro

Ryan Calo is an assistant professor at the University of Washington School of Law and a former research director at CIS. A nationally recognized expert in law and emerging technology, Ryan's work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, Wired Magazine, and other news outlets. Ryan serves on several advisory committees, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, and the Future of Privacy Forum. Read more » about Ryan Calo

Patrick Lin is the director of the Ethics + Emerging Sciences Group, based at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. He has published several books and papers in the field of technology ethics, especially with respect to nanotechnology, human enhancement, robotics, and military technologies. He teaches courses in ethics, political philosophy, philosophy of technology, and philosophy of law. Dr. Read more » about Patrick Lin

Since the 1950s, the Long Beach Freeway has linked the massive Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to, roughly, the rest of the continental United States. Because much has changed in trade and traffic since then, California’s relevant transportation authorities have decided that perhaps this freeway should change as well. Read more » about The Impact of Automation on Environmental Impact Statements

Within the next few years, autonomous vehicles—alias robot cars—could be weaponized, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) fears. In a recently disclosed report, FBI experts wrote that they believe that robot cars would be “game changing” for law enforcement. The self-driving machines could be professional getaway drivers, to name one possibility. Given the pace of developments on autonomous cars, this doesn’t seem implausible. Read more » about Don’t fear the robot car bomb

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""Google has a lot of data from its fleet," says Bryant Walker Smith, resident fellow at the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School, who's written about the legality of autonomous cars. "But it's data that shows you how specially trained, highly educated, early-adopter types mostly in their 20s and 30s can navigate the roads of San Francisco, where it doesn't snow or flood or all these things, in cars that are much nicer and newer than the average American's car.""Read more » about The Practical Path to Driverless Cars

"Robotics and law expert Ryan Calo seems to think that laws around telepresence are inevitable: “Today’s telepresence permits people to communicate more fully,” he says. ”Free speech principles preclude interference by the government. Tomorrow’s telepresence, however, will allow surgeons and others to act on the world in ways that law will feel compelled to reach.”"Read more » about Snowden BEAMs into TED: How robotic telepresence disrupts borders

"Peter Asaro, however, is not impressed with this domino theory of agency. A philosopher of science at The New School, in New York, and co-founder of ICRAC, Asaro contends robots lack "meaningful human control" in their use of deadly force. As such, killer robots would be taking the role of moral actors, a position that he doubts they are capable of fulfilling under International Humanitarian Law. That's why, he says, these systems must be banned."Read more » about Killer Robots: Natural Evolution, or Abomination?

"“The judge noted in passing that the FAA’s public communication around defining UAS [unmanned air systems] was technically defective. He didn’t rely on this alleged defect—rather, he said even in talking about UAS, the FAA excluded modelers like Pirker again,” says drone law expert Ryan Calo."Read more » about Drone Wars (Of The Legal Variety)

The Georgetown Law Journal invites everyone for a fast-paced and interesting discussion of "disruptive technology": What are the implications of 3-D printing for patent doctrine? How will the driverless cars of the not-so-distant future affect the way we look at tort liability? What does the Fourth Amendment have to say about mass surveillance programs?

TransOvation is a PDH-granting workshop and program focused on helping transportation design and construction industry professionals (from both the public and private sectors) build innovative thinking into their professional skill set. During this extraordinary, interactive learning event, world-class innovators use real-world examples and technologies to demonstrate approaches that can lead to new markets, increased efficiency, productivity and profit. Read more » about Transovation

"Calo recently signed an open letter that detailed his and others’ concerns over AI’s rapid progress. The letter was published by the Future of Life Institute, a research organization studying the potential risks posed by AI. The letter has since been endorsed by scientists, CEOs, researchers, students and professors connected to the tech world. Read more » about A responsible approach to artificial intelligence

Billions of dollars are pouring into the latest investor craze: artificial intelligence. But serious scientists like Stephen Hawking have warned that full AI could spell the end of the human race. How seriously should we take the warnings that ever-smarter computers could turn on us? Our expert witnesses explain the threat, the opportunities and how we might avoid being turned into paperclips. Read more » about Should We Fear Artificial Intelligence?

"Ryan Calo, Assistant Law Professor at the University of Washington and an affiliate scholar at the Stanford Center for Internet and Society, joined us to talk about his vision for a commission compromised of technologists, engineers, and scientists: